UEFA Champions League � 20 Teams Are After The 10 Last Seats For The Group Stage

The last knockout qualifying round is halfway through, but nothing has been decided yet, as there are still 90 minutes to play. Nobody wants to loose the chance to be part of the biggest club competition in Europe, and the second leg games that will be played on August 24th and 25th will be a good preview of the intensity that will be experienced through out the competition. The 56th edition of the tournament is just waiting for the winner of each playoff to begin its group phase on September 14th.

Teams like Sevilla, Sampdoria or Tottenham have a tight situation ahead, where they need a come from behind victory against rivals that turned out to be more complicated that expected during the first leg. The Spaniards lost 1 to 0 on their visit to Braga, the Italians 3 to 1 to Werder Bremen, and the English team 3 to 2 against the Young Boys from Switzerland. Others like Ajax and Anderlecht had a little bit more of luck and tied their games against Dynamo and Partizan respectively.

The defending champion, Inter, has the statistics against them, as no club has been able to win two consecutive titles since the current format was implemented in 1992. For some, the strength of this team was their former coach, Portuguese Jose Mourinho, who left to Real Madrid in search of new challenges for his successful career. To replace him, President Massimo Moratti signed former Liverpool�s Coach Rafael Benitez, who leaves Anfield after 6 years of work. Replacing someone like Mourinho might not be something easy, but Benitez is a winner and has already conquered one Champions League title with Liverpool in 2005, so he is prepared for what is coming.

The team that has done the strongest investment this year for the competition is Real Madrid, which has not only signed Mourinho to lead them to victory again, but also six new players have arrived to the team: World Cup sensation Ozil, Argentinean Di Maria, Spaniards Canales and Leon, German Khedira, and the Portuguese defender Carvalho. The club is obsessed with wining one more Champions League cup, which would represent the tenth one in their history. It must be said that the UEFA Championship has not made it to the Santiago Bernabeu since Real Madrid won the title in 2002. They are going to be one of the favorites to win the competition.

Barcelona still regrets their elimination from the past season against Inter, it hurt the players so bad that they made a vow compromising to win the competition this year. For third year in a row they look as one of the strongest teams to beat, as they not only have Lionel Messi, considered to be the best player of the world, but they are also the base of Spain�s National team. And if this wasn�t enough, striker David Villa has joined the team in the best moment of his career, and is hungry for titles. Guardiola has a small but strong group that will definitely make it to the final stages of the competition.

Since Roman Abramovich purchased Chelsea, he placed the team on top of the Premier League along with Manchester United, but unlike their rival, they haven�t been to take that superiority to Europe, which has been a pending desire for him and the fans. This season they have on more shot to fulfill their dreams and win their first Champions League cup in their history.

Other teams might join to the list of favorites, but these ones will definitely carry the title of favorites. The only thing for sure is that Wembley Stadium will be waiting to crown the new champion.

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